Container cleaning machine



Dec. 8, 1959 J. P. WHELAN 2,915,773

CONTAINER CLEANING MACHINE Filed June 6, 1956 6 Sheets$heet 1 IN VEN TOR. James F2 WhQ/an ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1959 J. P. WHELAN CONTAINER CLEANING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1956 INVBVTOR. James P Whe/an 9. 55.4. cwm

AT TORNE Y J. P. WHELAN CONTAINER CLEANING MACHINE Dec. 8, 1959 Filed June 6, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. James P Whe/an ATTORNEY J. WHELAN CONTAINER CLEANING MACHINE De s, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet '5 Filqd June e, 1956- FIG.?

' INVENTOR.

, James P Whelan CMQAJL ATTORNEK United States Patent CONTAINER CLEANING MACHINE James P. Whelan, Quincy, Mass., assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited, Quincy, Mass., at corporation of Massachusetts Application June 6, 1956, Serial No. 589,690

10 Claims. (Cl. 15-304) This invention relates to a container cleaning machine.

The invention has for one of its objects the provision of a novel and eflicient container cleaning machine capable of operation at relatively high speeds with minimum liability of breakage or damage to the containers passing through the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel cleaning machine of the character above set forth wherein the cleaning operation is performed by air streams directed into the containers while they are passing through the machine in an inverted position.

With these general objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the container cleaning machine and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the present container cleaning machine;

Fig. 2 is an end view partly in cross section of the container cleaning machine as viewed from the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the cleaning mechanism embodying a plurality of individual container cleaning air nozzles movable with but at a different rate of speed than the containers;

Fig. 4 is a plan view detail of a portion of the conveying mechanism showing the container receiving and discharging stations;

Fig. 5 is a detail View in side elevation of a plurality shown partly in In general the invention contemplates a container 2,915,773 Patented Dec. 8, 1959 acterized by its ability to handle various types and sizes of bottles or other open mouthed containers with minimum adjustment.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention provision is made for directing streams of air into the inverted containers by means of a series of spaced cleaning nozzles and for moving the nozzles along with the containers so that the cleaning operation may be performed without interruption in the continuous movement of the containers through the machine. Preferably, in accordance with the present invention the containers are preferably moved through the machine at a faster rate of speed than the spaced cleaning nozzles so that in operation the containers overtake, align with and pass successive air cleaning nozzles being moved along at a slower rate of speed. As a result the containers may receive several blasts of air during their continuous passage through the machine in accordance with the relative spacing and difference in speeds of the nozzles and the containers. One advantage of this expedient is that each container during its passage over a slower moving cleaning nozzle receives a substantially longer air cleaning time than in a structure wherein the containers pass over stationary nozzles at the same relative speed. Another and equally important advantage is that the containers are not required to be spaced to conformto the spacing of the nozzles, thus rendering unnecessary synchronization of movement and registration of successive containers with successive nozzles during their passage through the machine. In practice the spacing of the containers may vary with respect to the spacing of the nozzles.

Referring now to the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, the container cleaning machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a central or intermediate conveyor 10 which may comprise a flat belt arrangedto run over pulleys 22, 24 at each end of the conveyor. The central conveyor 10 comprises a supporting belt for containers 12 deposited thereon and is arranged to advance the containers into a converging portion 25 of a conveyor comprising a pair of endless inflated tubes 26, 28 of rubber or like resilient material which are also arranged to run over pulleys 22, 24 in side by side relation and which are adapted to grip between them the containers advanced therebetween by the supporting belt 10. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the

pulleys may be driven through drive mechanism comprising an electric motor 30 which may be connected by a chain and sprocket drive 32 to the pulley shaft 38 on which the pulley 22 is mounted. A chain and sprocket drive connection 37 may be provided between the pulley shafts 38, 39 as shown.

Provision is made for transferring containers from a supply thereof onto the central conveyor 10, and as herein shown, a supply of containers may be fed into the machine on a supply conveyor 40 which may be continuously driven in anyusual or preferred manner, not shown, The containers 12 being advanced in contiguous engagement on the conveyor 40 are engaged by a worm feed screw 41 arranged to space the containers to be received by a rotary intake spider or star wheel 42 having a plurality of spaced container engaging pockets 43. The intake spider 42 in cooperation with'a guide plate 44 is arranged to transfer the containers onto the central conveyor 10 in predetermined spaced relation as shaft 57, each shaft 53, 57 being supported in brackets a attached to an upstanding drive housing 59. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the worm feed screw 41 is fast on a shaft 61 rotatably supported in spaced arms 63 which are pivotally mounted on a shaft 65 journaled in brackets 67 attached to a side rail forming a part of the machine frame. The worm feed shaft 61 is connected by a chain and sprocket drive 71 to the upper shaft 57. The worm feed screw 41 may be adjusted relative to the containers on the intake conveyor 443 by rocking the supporting arms 63 to the desired position of adjustment, the arms being locked in their adjusted position by a slot and bolt connection 73 between the brackets 67 and the arms. The intake spider 42 may also be driven from the shaft 50 through bevel gears 52 to a vertical shaft 54. The vertical shaft 54 may be connected to the transfer spider shaft 56 by a chain and sprocket drive 58 as best shown in Fig. 4.

While in some instances it may be preferred to space the containers, as above described, such as when relatively small diameter containers are being run, it will be understood that exact spacing of the containers is not necessary and that the containers may be irregularly spaced, or particularly with larger diameter containers the containers may and preferably will be conveyed through the machine in contiguous engagement as illustrated in Fig. 9. As therein shown, the containers fed into the machine on the intake conveyor 40 may be transferred directly to the intermediate supporting conveyor 19 by a rotary disk 3% and the guide plates 44 with the containers remaining in contiguous engagement during passage through the machine. Thus, the spacing mechanism may be eliminated. Furthermore, containers of square, hexagonal, oval or other non-circular cross sectional shapes may be fed into the machine and conveyed therethrough without regard to spacing or timing of the feed of the containers, the resiliency of the inflated tubes conforming to the shape of the containers as well as accommodating containers of varying sizes.

The containers 12 are fed into the illustrated machine in an upright position and are advanced on the supporting belt along a laterally spaced portion of the inflated tube conveyor, and as they enter the converging portion 25 of the opposed tubes 26, 28 they are firmly and resiliently gripped therebetween and carried from the upper run of the conveyor around the pulley 22 and into the lower run of the conveyor to assume an inverted position along the lower run. In practice any relatively heavy particles or other foreign matter which may be within the containers 12 may at this time fall out of the mouths of the containers by gravity during their transition from an upright to an inverted position in passing around the pulley 22.

During their travel along the lower run in an inverted position the individual containers are subjected to air cleaning by air nozzles 60 arranged to be moved along at a slower rate than the containers. Each air nozzle may be provided with its individual valve mechanism arranged to be actuated by the engagement of the neck of a container as it passes over the slower moving nozzles so that in practice each container may receive several air blasts during its advance through the lower run of the machine as will be hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in Fig. 2, the inflated tubes 26, 23 are arranged to be supported along the lower run of the conveyor in firm gripping engagement with the containers '12, and as herein shown, the inflated tubes may be supported by spool shaped idler guide rollers 68 having a concave surface to fit around portions of the convex surfaces of the cylindrical tubes. In order to prevent undue friction between the different diameters of the concave portions of the spool, the guide rollers 68 may be. formed in separate sections so that each section may rotate independently and thus prevent friction which might otherwise occur due to the variation in surface aarwvs' speeds at the diiferent points of contact with, the tubes 26, 28. The guide rollers 68, as shown in Fig. 2, are preferably supported at an angle of about 45 with respect to the tubes in a manner such as to urge the tubes upwardly and inwardly in gripping engagement with the containers carried therebetween. The rollers 68 may be supported in brackets 76 mounted on the machine frame. In order to further control the path of travel of the tubes 26, 28 along the lower run to cause them to be maintained in firm engagement with the inverted containers 12 and to prevent upward displacement thereof, a series of idler rolls 78 may be supported for engagement with the upper portions of the tubes as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The rollers 78 may be supported in brackets 80 depending from side rails forming a part of the machine frame.

After passing through the lower run of the conveyor in an inverted position the cleaned containers 12 are again carried into the upper run around the end pulley 24 and are released from gripping engagement with the tubes 26, 28 at a diverging portion of the conveyor, as indicated at 92, and the cleaned containers may then be transferred from the central belt 10 onto a discharge conveyor 94 by a rotary transfer disk 96 disposed between the conveyors, as shown, and by engagement with the guide plate 44 in a manner similar to the transfer of the containers from the supply conveyor 40 onto the central belt 10. The rotary transfer disk $6 may be driven in a manner similar to the supply transfer disk 42 through connections from the shaft 50, bevel gears 98 and chain and sprocket drive 100 as shown in detail in Fig. 4.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, provision is made for diverting the tubes 26, 2S laterally outwardly along the upper run to provide the converging and diverging portions 25 and 92 so that the containers received on the central conveyor 10 are free of contact with the tubes 26, 28, and provision is also made for diverting the tubes vertically downwardly out of the plane of transfer of the containers to and from the central belt 10 whereby to permit lateral transfer of the containers to and from the central belt 10 without interference from the tubes. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, idler rollers lltlZ, 104 are supported in spaced relation for engaging the outer surfaces of opposed tubes adjacent the discharge end of the conveyor along the upper run, and idler rolls 106, 108 are supported in spaced relation for engagement with the inner surfaces of the tubes to provide the diverging portion 92 at one end of the conveyor. As further shown in Figs. 1 and 4, idler rolls 110, 112 are also provided for engaging the underside of the tubes along the upper run adjacent the discharge end of the conveyor which cooperate with another set of idler rolls 114, 116 spaced therefrom and disposed at a lower plane for engaging the upper surfaces of the tubes to divert the tubes downwardly as described. One or more intermediate idler pulleys 118 may also be provided for maintaining the tubes in their lower diverted position. Idler rolls 120, 122 engageable with the upper and lower surfaces respectively cooperate to guide the tubes upwardly into the normal plane of the upper run as illustrated in Fig. l. Idler rolls 124 engageable with the inner surfaces of the tubes are arranged to cooperate with idler rolls T26 engageable with the outer surfaces of the tubes to provide the converging portion 25 at the other end comprising the receiving end of the conveyor, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Vertically disposed auxiliary rollers 128 may also be provided for engagement with the outer sides of the tubes to prevent lateral displacement outwardly thereof during their passage through the diverted portion of the upper run as shown. As shown in Fig. 1, the pulley shafts 33, 39 may be journaled in upright brackets 13G supported from the base of the machine, the brackets 13% being provided with connecting side rails 132, 134 to which the various roller supporting brackets may be attached. It will be observed that the central supporting belt is preferably guided upwardly over the rollers 78 along the lower run of the conveyor out of engagement with the bottoms of the inverted containers as shown.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, each pulley 22, 24 is provided with an intermediate or central portion having a flat cylindrical surface for accommodating the intermediate or central belt 10 on which the containers are supported and advanced into and out of engagement with the tubes 26, 28. Each pulley is further provided with cylindrical concave portions on each side of and slightly above the flat surface, the concave portions being adapted to conform to the shape of the cylindrical tubes 26, 28. It will be observed that the concave portions are formed to correspond substantially to the outer surfaces defined by the outer lower quadrant of each cylindrical tube in the upper run, the concave portions preferably being extended slightly beyond each end of the lines defining the quad rant, so that the lower portion of each quadrant provides a base for frictional driving engagement with the inner run of its tube, and the outer portions of each quadrant tend to urge the tubes inwardly into firm engagement with the containers carried therebetween.

In order to prevent twisting of the tubes 26, 28 relative to the pulleys 22, 24 during their passage through the machine, the interior surface of each rubber tube may be provided with a relatively narrow endless band 146 of fabric or like material secured to the inner surface along the inner run of the tube in alignment with the base portions of the concave portions of the pulleys so that in passing around the pulleys the band portions 146 will follow the base portions of the quadrants and thus prevent lateral or rotary movement of the tubes relative to the pulleys. It will be understood that the bands 146 may comprise a flexible but relatively non-stretchable fabric or like material so that the inner runs of the tubes will tend to follow the base portions of the pulleys, as described, to maintain the tubes in a straight run relative to'the pulleys. In effect the bands 146 act as narrow belts disposed within the tubes.

It will be observed that the spacing of the concave portions of the pulleys is such as to dispose the tubes in a normal slightly spaced relation, as illustrated in Fig. 2,

for eflicient gripping engagement with average size containers. In operation the tubes may be inflated at a relatively low pressure, approximately one and one-half poundspressure for example, providing ample resiliency for gripping engagement with the sides of the containers.

While the normal pressure of one and one-half pounds is capable of accommodating a wide range of sizes in practice the tubes may be inflated to a slightly greater pres- .sure to accommodate very small containers, or the tubes may be deflated to a slightly lower pressure to accommodate relatively larger size containers.

In operation it will be seen that the containers on the belt 10 in the upper run of the conveyor are supported relative to the tubes 26, 28 so that the tubes will firmly engage the sides of the containers fed therebetween and will carry the same downwardly around the pulley 22 with the bottoms of the containers in engagement with the belt 10, and when the containers reach the lower run in inverted position the belt 10 is guided out of engagement with the bottoms of the containers so that the containers are engaged solely by the tubes during their travel through the lower run.

The inverted containers are moved into operative position with respect to the cleaning mechanism as will be described. After the cleaning I operation the containers being carried from the lower run itral conveyor. 1 v

" From the description thus far it will be observed that the present structure of cleaning apparatus provides a simple and. economical manner of conveying-containers or other articles from an upright position to an inverted position into operative relation to the cleaning mechanism. It will also be observed that containers of various sizes and shapes are firmly and resiliently gripped between the tubes, the resiliency of the tubes conforming to the shape and size of the containers or other articles gripped therebetween.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the pneumatic cleaning mechanism includes a plurality of spaced cleaning units, indicated generally at 150, each cleaning unit including an air nozzle mounted in a valve housing 200 and which is connected to an air supply by an individual flexible tube 202. The units are connected in spaced relation to upper and lower chains 204, 206 which are provided with right angle brackets 208, 210 respectively connected to upper and lower lugs 212, 214 extended from the valve housing 200, as shown in detail in Fig. 6. The

chains 204, 206 are arranged to run over upper and lower sprockets 216 at one end of the machine and over upper and lower sprockets 218 at the other end of the machine, the lower chain 206 being provided with spaced rollers 220 connected to the underside thereof by U-shaped brackets 222. The rollers 220 are arranged to run on a supporting track 224 in order to maintain the cleaning units in a vertical position, as shown, the track 224 being supported by brackets 226 depending from the underside of the machine frame as shown in Fig. 2.

The sprockets 216 comprising the drive sprockets are fast on the lower end of a shaft 228 mounted for rotation in a bearing 230 depending from the underside of the frame. The upper end of the shaft 228 is provided with a sprocket 250 keyed thereto and may be connected by a chain 264 to a sprocket 266 fast on a vertical shaft 268 which is connected by bevel gears 270 to an intermediate shaft 272. The intermediate shaft 272 may be connected to the motor 46 by a belt and pulley drive 274 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. i

. In the operation of the machine thus far described the spaced nozzle units 150 are continuously moved in operative relation to the spaced containers being moved along the lower run of the inflated conveyor in an inverted position with the nozzle units traveling at a slower rate of speed than the containers. .As illustrated in detail in Fig.

6, each nozzle unit 150 is provided with its individual valve comprising a spring pressed stem 232 slidingly mounted in the valve housing 200 and having a reduced diameter portion 231 intermediate its ends. The inner end of the stem is engaged by a coil spring 246 interposed between the stem and a cap member 233 threadedly engaged with the valve housing as shown. The outer end of the stem 232 is engaged by the rounded end of one arm 234 of a two-armed lever pivotally mounted at 236 supported in an extension 238 from the valve housing. The second arm 240 of the two-armed lever carries a roller 242 arranged to be engaged by the neck of an inverted container is extended and the cylindrical portion 248 of the stem 232 is arranged forwardly to cut off the air through passageway 252 in communication with its compressed air tube 202. When the roller 242 is engaged by the neck of a container the two-armed lever is rocked in a clockwise direction to depress the valve stem 232 and to present .the reduced diameter portion 231 of the stem in alignment with the air passageway 252 and with a second aligned passageway 254 in communication with the air nozzle 60.

Thus it will be seen that in operation each time a faster moving container engages the valve actuating roller'ofa .sl ower moving air cleaning nozzle the valve is opened to directablast of air into the cqntainer whereby tov effect 7 air cleaning of the container, as described, such cleaning operation occurring one or several times on the same container as it comes into alignment with successive nozzles during the advance of the container along the lower run of the inflated tube conveyor depending on the relative spacing and speeds of movement of the containers and the nozzles as will be hereinafter more fully described. It will be observed that the reduced diameter stem or spool type of valve 232 shown is adapted to be fully opened substantially immediately upon engagement of the neck of the container with the roller 242 and will remain fully opened during substantially the entire time of engagement of the neck with the roller so as to provide a maximum cleaning time at maximum air pressure. It will also be observed that the provision of an individual valve for each nozzle operated by the passage of individual containers to be cleaned results in minimum loss of air pressure in the system as compared with a system wherein the cleaning nozzles remain open continuously during their travel through the cleaning path.

As herein illustrated, the individual air tubes 202 are connected to a rotary manifold 256 having an air supply chamber 257 provided with a plurality of nipples 258 arranged to receive the tubes as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The rotary manifold 256 is formed at the lower end of a tubular member 259 rotatably mounted in a depending bearing member 260 secured to the frame of the machine and in a hub 262 coextensive therewith formed in the frame. As illustrated in Fig. l, the flexible tubes may be of considerable length so as to maintain communication with their respective cleaning units during movement of the units throughout their travel about the centrally disposed rotary manifold 256. As herein shown, the upper end of the tubular member 259 may be connected to any usual or preferred source of compressed air through an adapter 338 and pipe 340, the compressed air following the central passageway through the tubular member and communicating with the manifold chamber 257. As shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the tubular member 259 is provided with a sprocket 336 forming a part of a chain and sprocket drive 341 to effect rotation of the rotary manifold in timed relation to the movement of the cleaning nozzle units. The chain and sprocket drive 34-1 is connected to a vertical shaft 342 which is connected by a second chain and sprocket drive 344 to the vertical shaft 268 as shown in Fig. 3.

From the above description it will be seen that the present container cleaning machine is simple in construction and eflicient in operation for air cleaning containers being moved along at a relatively high speed in an inverted position and with minimum liability of breakage or damage to the containers passing through the machine. It will also be observed that the expedient of moving the air nozzles along with the containers but at a slower rate of speed affords the advantages of a relatively long air blast time for each container as the containers overtake, align with and pass the air nozzles without the provision of complicated and relatively expensive mechanism for aligning successive nozzles with successive containers. As an explanation of the operation of the present cleaning machine for a particular speed and number of bottles per minute the following example is offered: Assume that a nozzle path thirty-six inches long is provided corresponding to the length of the lower run of the inflated tube conveyor and that the containers are moved along at the rate of 300 per minute on three inch centers to provide a container speed of fifteen inches per second. Also assume that the nozzles are spaced on two inch centers and travel at the rate of 10 inches per second, it will be seen that the thirty-six inch long cleaning path will have 12 containers spaced 3 inches apart and 18 nozzles spaced 2 inches apart at any particular moment, and that a container will pass over the nozzle path in 2.4 seconds, while a nozzle will pass over the same path in 3.6 seconds, or at a ratio of 2 to 3.

Thus a container will overtake and pass a nozzle to effect opening of the air valve six times during its passage over the 36-inch run, each air blast being of .2 second duration so that each container will receive a total air blast of 1.2 seconds duration during its travel through the 36-inch run assuming that the neck of the container which holds the valve open is 1 inch in diameter. As a comparison of the air blast time in the present arrangement with the air blast time afforded by stationary nozzles blowing continuously and with a container speed of 300 per minute, if 8 stationary nozzles were provided the total air blast time for each container would be only .53 second.

Figs. 19, ll and 12 diagrammatically indicate three difierent positions of a single container relative to two spaced nozzles in order to clearly explain the relative movement of the containers and the nozzles in a predetermined time interval, and also to show how a single container receives several blasts of air during its advance along the lower run as it overtakes and comes into alignment with successive nozzles. Assume that the single container 12 is moved at the rate of 15 inches per second and that the nozzles are moved at the rate of 10 inches per second. As shown in full lines in Fig. 10, the first position of the container 12 is in alignment with the nozzle A and receives a blast of air. At the end of one second the container will have arrived in the full line position shown in Fig. 11 and the slower moving nozzles A and B will have arrived at an intermediate position, as also shown in full lines, the container having passed nozzle A and is approaching nozzle B. Finally, at the end of two seconds, the container will have overtaken and come into alignment with nozzle B, as shown in Fig. 12, to receive a second blast of air. Thus, it will be seen that each container will receive a blast of air as it comes into alignment with successive nozzles during the advance of the containers over the nozzle path and that each container may receive several blasts of air, the number of blasts depending on the relative spacing and speeds of movement of the containers and the nozzles.

While it is preferred to run the nozzles at a slower rate of speed than the containers so that the containers will overtake and come into alignment with the slower moving nozzles, it will be apparent that similar results may be obtained if the nozzles were run at a faster speed than the containers, in which event the nozzles would overtake, align with and pass the containers. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the relative movement of one element with respect to the other may include a condition wherein one of the elements may be substantially stationary, such as a condition wherein the spaced nozzles may be stationary and the containers moved thereover so that successive containers will receive a blast of air from successive nozzles positioned therebeneath.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Container cleaning apparatus comprising, means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, air cleaning means including a supply of air under pressure and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles connected therewith, and means for continuously moving the nozzles along in operative relation to the containers but at a different rate of speed whereby the faster moving of said container and nozzle elements will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving of said container and nozzle elements to perform the cleaning operations during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers, the spacing between successive continuously moving nozzle elements being fixed and the spacing between successive continuously moving container elements being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzle elements.

- 2 Container cleaning apparatus comprising, means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, air cleaning means including a supply of air under pressure and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles connected therewith, the spacing between said air nozzles being fixed and the spacing between said containers being variable and difi'eringfrom the spacing between successive nozzles, means for continuously moving the nozzles along in operative relation to the containers but at a different rate of speed whereby the faster moving of said container and nozzle elements will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving of said container and nozzle elements to perform the cleaning operations during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers, and an individual air valve associated with each continuously moving nozzle and arranged to be operated by relative movement of the nozzles and the containers into and out of alignment to release the air from the nozzles into the containers, said variation in speed and spacing of the nozzle and container elements effecting an increase in the time of alignment of the nozzles with the mouths of the containers during the continuous movement of both the nozzles and the containers.

3. Container cleaning apparatus comprising means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, air cleaning means including a supply of air under pressure and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles connected therewith, and means for continuously moving the air nozzles along in operative relation to the containers but at a slower rate of speed whereby the faster moving containers will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving air nozzles to perform the cleaning operation during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers, the spacing between successive continuously moving nozzles being fixed and the spacing between successive continuously moving containers being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzles.

4. Container cleaning apparatus comprising means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, air cleaning means including a supply of air under pressure and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles connected therewith, the spacing between said air nozzles being fixed and the spacing between said containers being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzles, means for continuously moving the air nozzles along in operative relation to the containers but at a slower rate of speed whereby the faster moving containers will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving air nozzles to perform the cleaning operation during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers, an individual air valve associated with each nozzle, and means carried by the nozzles and arranged to be engaged by the necks of the faster moving containers for operating the valves to effect release of air from the nozzles into the containers during passage of the containers over the nozzles, said variation in speed and spacing of the nozzles and containers effecting an increase in the time of alignment of the nozzles with the mouths of the containers during the continuous movement of both the nozzles and the containers.

5. Container cleaning apparatus comprising, means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, air cleaning means including a supply of air under pressure and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles connected therewith, the spacing between said air nozzles being fixed and the spacing between said containers being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzles, means for moving the nozzles along in operative relation to the containers but at a different rate of speed whereby the faster moving of said container and nozzle elements will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving of said container and nozzle elements to perform the cleaning operations during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers, said source of compressed air including a rotary manifold and flexible connections between said manifold and each air nozzle, and means for rotating said manifold in timed relation to the movement of said nozzles, said variation in speed and spacing of the nozzle and container elements effecting an increase in the time of alignment of the nozzles with the mouths of the containers during the continuous movement of both the nozzles and the containers.

6. Container cleaning apparatus having, in combination, an endless conveyor for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers from an upright position in an upper run to an inverted position in the lower run, air cleaning means including a supply of compressed air and a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles continuously movable in operative and parallel ,relationtobut at a different rate of speed than the inverted containers in said lower run, whereby the faster moving of said container and nozzle elements will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving of said container and nozzle elements to perform the cleaning operation during the continuous movement of the nozzles and containers along said lower run, the spacing between successive continuously moving nozzle elements being fixed and the spacing between successive continuously moving container elements being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzle elements, the length of said lower run and the relative speeds of the differently spaced nozzles and containers being such as to effect alignment of successive containers with difierent nozzles a plurality of times during their travel through said lower run.

7. For use with container cleaning apparatus having a conveyor comprising a pair of opposed endless inflated tubes disposed side by side and guided to provide an upper and a lower run, said tubes being resilient and arranged to grip and convey containers therebetween in variably spaced relation and to carry the containers from an upright position in the upper run to an inverted position in the lower run, the improvement comprising air cleaning means including a supply of compressed air and a plurality of spaced air nozzles operatively connected to said air supply, the space between said nozzles being fixed and different from the space between said containers, said nozzles being movable in operative relation to but at a slower rate of speed than the inverted containers in said lower run, whereby the faster moving containers will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving air nozzles to perform the cleaning operation during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers along said lower run.

8. For use with container cleaning apparatus having a conveyor comprising a pair of opposed endless inflated tubes disposed side by side and guided to provide an upper and a lower run, said tubes being resilient and arranged to grip and convey containers therebetween in variably spaced relation and to carry the containers from an upright position in the upper run to an inverted position in the lower run, the improvement comprising air cleaning means including a supply of compressed air, a plurality of spaced air nozzles operatively connected to said air supply, the space between said nozzles being fixed and different from the space between said containers, said nozzles being movable in operative relation to but at a slower rate of speed than the inverted containers in said lower run, whereby the faster moving containers will overtake, align with and pass the slower moving air nozzles to perform the cleaning operation during the continuous movement of the nozzles and the containers along said lower run, and an individual air valve associated with each nozzle and arranged to be operated by a 11. container passing into and out of alignment with a nozzle whereby to effect release of air from the nozzle into the container during its passage over the nozzle.

9. In a container cleaning machine, in combination, means for supporting and continuously conveying successive spaced open mouthed containers in an inverted position, continuously moving air cleaning means disposed below the inverted containers including a plurality of successive spaced air nozzles, means for moving the air nozzles at a slower rate of speed than the containers, air supply means connected with said nozzles, and valve means carried by and movable with each air nozzle arranged to be actuated by a container passing over the nozzle whereby to release a blast of air into the container as it passes each nozzle, the spacing between successive continuously moving nozzle elements being fixed and the spacing between successive continuously moving container elements being variable and differing from the spacing between successive nozzle elements.

10. A container cleaning machine as defined in claim 11 wherein the valve means includes a pivotally mounted arm having a roller arranged in the'path of the neck of an inverted bottle and arranged to be engaged by said neck to open the valve as the container passes over the nozzle, said variation in speed and spacing of the nozzle and container elements efiFecting an increase in the time of alignment of the nozzles with the mouths of the containers during the continuous movement of both the nozzles and the containers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,144,023 Beutlich June 22, 1915 1,568,594 Flint Jan. 5, 1926 2,298,475 Fechheimer Oct. 13, 1942 2,634,737 Rowe Apr. 14, 1953 2,698,624 Peters Jan. 4, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 32,072 Holland Feb. 15, 1934 

